The next day, before dawn, the Xu family turned on their lights.

Su He knew yesterday that Brother Xu was going on a business trip to another city today and would have to get up early to leave.

So when she heard the noise, she got up to help.

After seeing Xu Ping off, Su He, having nothing to do since it wasn't yet time for work, strolled over to the police station.

There weren't many people at the police station right now, and no one was exercising in the yard. Su He guessed there was no one in the kitchen either.

I had originally planned to practice a set of boxing moves in the yard to get some exercise. After all, I've been staying at Aunt Xu's house for the past few days, and her yard is quite small, so I haven't had much time to practice and I'm a little worried that I'll get rusty.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived at the kitchen, they found the door was open.

The kitchen door is usually locked by the last person to leave after get off work, but the key is usually left under the windowsill tiles, and whoever arrives first opens it.

Su He was surprised to find that there were others who had arrived even earlier than her.

I instinctively opened the door and went inside.

The moment I opened the door, I seemed to hear a "beep beep" sound.

However, it was quickly drowned out by the creaking sound of the door opening.

When she listened again, it was gone.

Su He didn't pay any attention and walked directly to the kitchen. Before she even got there, she heard the sound of chopping meat.

She was surprised, but also somewhat enlightened.

Sure enough, Dong Fang was there when I went inside.

"Brother Dong, why are you here so early?"

Upon hearing the voice, Dong Fang turned around, smiled, and explained, "I had the chef marinate some leftover meat from yesterday, planning to stew it with pork bones to make some soup today. The soup takes a while to stew, so I thought I'd come over early to prepare the ingredients."

She then smiled sheepishly, "Anyway, I live alone, I always get up early, and I don't have much to do at home, so I came over early."

Su He looked at him with admiration, "Brother Dong is really amazing. He'll probably be able to go from apprentice to chef soon. Chef Liao will be overjoyed when that happens!"

Dong Fang smiled but didn't reply, probably because he was a little shy.

Knowing his personality, Su He didn't think much of it, rolled up her sleeves and went to help, forgetting all about exercising.

When Chef Liao and his team arrived, they were delighted to see that the ingredients were ready and praised the two of them profusely.

Su He explained somewhat embarrassedly, "I didn't do anything; it was all Brother Dong who came early to prepare."

Chef Liao was also very happy to hear this, and looked at Dong Fang with a smile, saying, "I've already talked to the old guys. You'll take the exam next month, and once you pass, you'll be a chef. Even if you're just the lowest-level chef, the salary will be much higher than what you're earning now."

Dong Fang was indeed very happy to hear this, and his usually shy face couldn't help but break into a smile.

"Thank you, Master. I will definitely do my best on the exam."

Chef Liao wasn't too worried and encouraged him, "Don't worry, with your skill level, you'll be more than qualified to pass the Level 3 chef exam. You'll definitely pass."

Dong Fang was less anxious after hearing this.

The others were also happy for Dong Fang and offered their congratulations.

However, compared to the joy in the kitchen, the atmosphere at the police station was not so good that day.

The repeated failures were a blow to them, not to mention that the Public Security Bureau was also somewhat disappointed. If they couldn't find the reason, they would probably be held accountable. So the station was under a lot of pressure during this period.

Su He and the others also sensed the atmosphere in the institute and became tense as well.

Besides Dong Fang, who consistently arrives early every day to practice in preparation for the upcoming exams and is always the last to leave, he probably doesn't have time for anything else.

Everyone else was praying that the case would be solved soon...